The Good , the Bad , and the Ugly [11-20-09]

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Well its a week before the annual GOBBLEY GOOKER holiday. So heres hoping ya enjoy this Thanksgiving themed , Good ...the Bad....and the Ugly. The rules are simple. If its good...its stays in your collection , cherished forever. If its BAD , its in the middle and perhaps kept. And if its plain UGLY....ya wipe your ass with it pretty much. Anyhow.....lets give THANKS ...


SPOILERS COMING.....



LAST CHANCE.....GIVE THANKS FOR....


The Good


Batman & Robin #6 : At this point what hasn't been great about this series so far ? Its just one of the best new Batman relaunches of the year. Even Tom Brevoort agreed that DC really....really did a great job with these books so far. Morrison leads the pack as this story follows the drastic shooting of Jason Todd (Red Hood) by Flamingo !

Like the 1960's , Red Hood & Scarlet have left Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne in a trap. People can vote they be killed and will see them without their masks and all. But here Damian has managed to get himself loose and frees Dick. They both go after Jason yet again and its there they face Flamingo who is a pretty bad ass customer.

He loves to kill and eat peoples faces and he tries to remove Scarlet's surgically implanted face. He also take a bite outta Jason's face during the brutal fight that unites them all. Flamingo doesn't say much and in the final scenes , Damian to save Scarlet ...dives in front of her and takes 5 bullets in the back . Paralyzing him as Dick tries to get him help.

Gordan arrives with the cops as Jason has buried Flamingo under a mountain of rubble. Scarlet has managed her escape and Todd is captured . Gordan tells Hood they let Batman do what he does because he's on the right side of the law as they have everyone on him. Oberan Sexton gets a call from Dr. Hurt who tells him he has un-finished business in Gotham....and Dick visits a sealed lab with a Batman body there . Using the key words Bruce used to create his seperate mind in BATMAN RIP.

Is it worth it ? Ohh yeahh it is. Jason Todd finally becomes a character who reveals how much he feels he failed as the 2nd Robin. That he never measured up in Bruce's eyes. Its perhaps the best Todd has been written since his return. We get hints of the future....what will happen to Damian ? Can he come back from this ? What about the corpse...is it Batman ...and will Dick use the Lazarus Pit ?


Deadpool Teamup #899 : Deadpool gets his 3rd.....3rd monthly series as now he teams up each month with others in the Marvel Universe. His 1st teamup is with the Prince of Power.... Hercules. For awhile Deadpool has had dreams of a mystery man cutting him to ribbens savagely . And well....Pool wants to kick this guys ass !

Nightmare teams up with Arcade to help beat their enemies. Arcade is pissed at Deadpool and wants to kill him. And Nightmare wants to get revenge on Herc. So Nightmare gets in Wade Wilson's mind as Arcade tricked Hercules into showing up in the killer maze.

The maze soon shows their inner torment as Deadpool faces his demented mind in a match. Hercules faces those he has failed like his children . Each one sufers as Pool gets cut bad. Then Herc ages and seems to give up. Suddenly in his crazyness , Wade Wilson decides to stab himself in the brain.....breaking Nightmare and Arcades grasp.

The result is an ass whupping on Arcade as Nightmare leaves pretty fast. Wade tells us at home he's gonna drink and party to his un-excusable fame now and 3rd monthly book. The decide to hit a Mexican spot and drink togethor !

Its a great fun read and its yet another new series for everyones favorite Merc . This Teamup series is counting backwards and heres hoping it sticks 898 more.

Batman #693: This issue continues the whole Black Mask/Falcone war thats starting to heat up. Batman and Robin manage to stop a group of mind controlled masks (underlings for Black Mask) and put them down with ease. But Dick is worried things are getting worse and fast with Roberto Falcone back running the family.

Back at home we see Alfred wake up Dick from his sleep at 5pm. He has to play the part of Bruce Wayne's ward , even if its Tommy Elliot posing for now as Bruce Wayne. But they have to keep up appearances as much as Dick hates these things and wearing a tux.

At the party we see Huntress arrive and it nearly knocks Dick for a loop. The dress is a stunner. Their there watching Elliot as the new Arkham opening bash is discussed. Riddler is there as well....and so is Black Mask. Fright wants to go but Mask tells her no.

In one scene we see "the kiss" as Helena gets Dick by suprise. The result is an un-easy sexual attraction stare for a panel. Barbara had them both mic'd up and tells her a new female has arrived who shouldn't. Helena is emberessed Barbara heard them kiss like that. But soon enough gets to work chasing the girl who blows everything to hell !

In the end we see Riddler survive the explosion and suddenly look all evil again as he brags "I'm back...." And then we see that Batman and Gordan arrive at the docks as 15-16 of Falcone's men were shredded . Batman reveals... "Its a cickle....The Reaper is back."

What a great read. I mean it hints at romance , it drops great interesting character spots and makes you wanna see what happens next. MESSAGE TO DC.... Make Tony Daniel the new main writer on Batman NOW.


Fables #90 : "Witches" part #4 of #5. Ozma the young witch holds a meeting of the 13th floor of witches and warlocks. Its there she wants someone new to lead the 13 since she claims Frau Totenkinder has abandoned her post in the coming war with Mr. Dark. The others are less than pleased with that situation but agree reluctantly to give her power. Ozma sends her special magic cat to spy on Mr. Dark to see what he is up too and wants to prepare spells and what not for him.

Meanwhile Gepeto is free and wandering the woods. He runs into the Grandfather Oak . A magic tree that powers all the trees in the forest. Gepeto wants to form an alliance and meet his wood children .

And back at the old office building that was magically shut off due to Mr. Dark coming back , Bufkin starts his battle of wills with Baba Yaga. The witch gets told of him by the magic mirror. But soon she nearly gets killed as a falen sword is cut. Soon enough we see that the little inch tall pixies Baba can't see where she is sitting ...are tossing little bits of gas on it. To start a fire.

Back at the Farm , King Cole and others have a meeting. Suddenly a telegam arrives from Frau Totenkinder . Inside is a money pounch is one coin and a note "Take half and melt down into bullets. You can keep the other half."

Suddenly the place pours with gold coins. Bigby says they need to listen to Frau's advice and do as she says. Snow White knows war is coming and decides to offer a deal to those reluctant to fight , if they do this...they can keep their arms and travel back into the Kingdoms and take land in exchange.

Its as usual a great read and I really love Fables. Good issue as usual as the buildup to 100# gets bigger.


END OF PART 1....Part 2 coming

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Deadpool #17 : Wade Wilson is TOTALLY GONNA KILL THAT DUDE....as he claimed. He's gonna kill Mercury's dad for causing this hell. Mercury tries to tell her dad everything is ok and is pissed at him for working with Osborn. He's live on TV at that moment as Deadpool arrives to kill him.

Osborn isn't happy he's alive as he tells Bullseye , but is ok with it since he is helping him . Domino arrives and saves the day as Deadpool and her share a moment. She gets him away to a motel and ties him to the bed and orders him to wait. As Deadpool listens weirdly.

Back at Utopia , Cyclops and Wolverine discuss what to do with Wade. They say something about sending him on a permant vacation and Domino believes they mean "kill him". She manages to free him minutes before Wolverine arrives and he's none to happy. Seems , what Cyclops meant was , Wolverine was gonna take Deadpool with him on a mission to Japan and keep him away awhile .....ha.

Osborn wants Deadpool to kill Mercury's dad so he has 2 of the worst guards on him , sitting in the middle of an airport. Wolverine and Domino plan to take him back to Utopia and keep him safe ....this was before Deadpool showed up cutting the power ...hellbent on still killing the guy !

Just a funny , funny read. The fact Cyclops and Wolverine are trying to think of ways to keep that insane fucker away ...and not hurt him is sweet. But it is funny to see Pool going all out to impress Cyclops and kill the guy. Just for him now. Worth a read people.


Adventure Comics #4(507): The redemption of Superboy Prime perhaps ? Who knows really. In this Geoff Johns tale , Prime is living on Earth-Prime like most comic geeks would. He in his basement , comic books around him. His anger has drifted away and he sadly seems ...saddened by the fact he's alone now. Then he reads Adventure Comics #4 and realizes whats gonna happen.

His parents are scared shitless still of him as he makes them drive to the comic book shop. Its there Black Lantern Alex Luthor gets to him with others Superboy Prime has killed in anger. Prime saves his parents and says they still love him. The scene fades to white as Prime wonders what happens next issue !

Elsewhere the Legion of Earth Prime (The Waid/Shooter LSH) have a time line alert go off. They know its Prime as they watch him leaving the house. Odds are they likely will be involved soon in this story.

In the LSH backup we get to see a bit of resolution to the Myra/Blok storyline. Myra has became the Black Witch and is holding Mordu at bay. A breaking away Blok wants to go to her because he loves her. The love of Dawnstar & Wildfire is mentioned in comparison and both agree to take him. Its there she uses her power to remake Blok and heal him. She can't leave ....and he pledges to stay with her forever. Sweet story.....

Adventure Comics is a good fun read and it should get a well good tie-in to Blackest Night. Great read as I wonder if Prime's excuse for being evil will be his anger as a cause. That as his anger rises he can't stop himself ? Hmmm...


Amazing Spider-Man #611: Deadpool is shown talkin with the chicks , braggin about his skills . Taking calls from Barack Obama til that is shown to be a lie. The girls get on his case and leave as Pool does take a call for a job. From Kraven the Hunter's wife and daughter. One he is excited about to do....and so begins the crossover we have waited months for.... DEADPOOL & SPIDER-MAN.

Spider-Man is basically having a piss poor day. Being crapped on with guys pouring coffee on him and being yelled at by everyone. Soon enough a villain shows up LADY STILTMAN ! She's doing a homage damn it to the legacy of Stilt-Man. Spider-Man mocks her and with an assist of an open sewer drain beats her. As she breaks down and cries...."Let it out..." Spider-Man jokes.

We see it was Deadpool who helped and even Spider-Man is shocked at this. Pool then reveals he's there for a job and the 2 start an epic battle. Wade jokes the 2 should be Bro-Mates . And pretty much loves the guy. But a job is a job and soon enough sets fire to his feet by accident.

They end up battling past mid-town and land in a school yard where they do "Your Mama" jokes. The battle of "Your Mama" goes back and forth as the kids take part cheering each one on. Suddenly the timer goes off as Deadpool says ...Job is over. Spider-Man is like...WTF ? Deadpool reveals he was never supposed to kill him , just keep him busy , and he wouldn't since he likes him. He makes a kid cry and leaves...telling Spider-Man he'll see him in Deadpool 19 in 2 months ! ha ha.

We learn that Deadpool keeping Spider-Man busy made him miss seeing Mattie-Franklin abducted for this Gauntlet and tortured as Madam Web sheds a tear for her. Plus we see Anti-Venom , Eddie Brock.

This finally.....finally is what we expected from a Spider-Man title. Great jokes , funny villains and interesting sub-plots as Gauntlet starts next issue. If Marvel could bottle this... and keep Joe Kelly on things...maybe the book would get better. Who knows....


Brave & the Bold #29: JMS run of good solid 1 issue stories on Brave and the Bold continues. In this one , Batman and Brother Power , The Geek appear. The issue discusses monsters who sadly need a purpose. A great comparison to Frankenstein is made as the monster Frankenstein is buried under burning rubble and sunk out to sea. But returns each time.

Brother Power is seen reborn from an old abandoned toy store in Gotham. Batman investigates and realizes...Brother Power hasn't done anything wrong. He's just a poor lost soul who has nowhere to go. He can't arrest him or take him back to the cave. So he basically keeps a watch on him.

Meanwhile the sadness in Brother Power is someone reborn from his time. We see him in the 1960's. All about peace and love. But the turning point for things and the life Brother Power loved ...ended when Bobby Kennedy was killed and those peaceful ones turned against their beliefs. The dream ended like the 1960's.

Batman is investigating who burned the toy store down and the buildings there and has a suspect. Brother Power helps by walking the streets....not realizing he's scaring people and saving them. In the final scene a homeless couple go to a building to stay warm for their baby. The man is gonna burn them all alive as Batman saves them as the building burns. Brother Power saves the child and burns in front of Batman....revealing he doesn't belong. Gone....for now.

I have to say ....these B & B 1 issue stories are pretty damn solid. I give props to THE MAN here. May he keep up these good stories. No change the universe or the hero dies shockingly. Just good solid stories.

Flash Rebirth #5 of (6): Barry , Wally , Bart , Max and Jay battle Zoom . The 4 are in a hard fight against him as they beat the shit outta him. But Zoom is crafty and showcases tricks he learned from the new Zoom. Like stopping time. This effect drives poor Iris and Jay into fits . Its revealed the both have been fighting for the power the entire time ....not realizing it hurts them. Iris decides to try and save her brother....and gets a powerful shock.

We see Jessie Quick arrive and detail that her father has led her to a new speedster. Its Iris as the 2 take off to help her dad and company battle Zoom. As all the speedsters assemble , Wally teaches em all a speed force trick. Each one gets a revamped costume. Iris assumes the mantle of the new female Impulse...wearing that costume. Wally takes a darker shade of the Flash costume as Barry is impressed.

Thawne reveals he has been behind everything bad in Barry's life. He fell down in school , it was Thawne who pushed him and broke his arm. His dog was hit by a car....it was Thawne who did that. House burning down...him. And the final kicker that pisses Barry off....seems Thawne fucked with the time stream , Barry's parents were supposed to grow old with him ....but Thawne killed them. And now...he;s gonna kill Barry's love of his life...Iris West !

Just a great read and for everyone wondering why Johns added the "murdered parents" subplot ...well we got an explanation. To add even more heat to the Reverse Flash/Flash battles. Pretty solid read....and I can't wait for #6.


The Bad.

For the 1st time... no Bad Books....wow.


END OF PART 2..... Final part coming....

[SUPERECWFAN1]

The Ugly


Amazing Spider-Man #612 : Whats more shocking ...the fact Gauntlet kicks off so piss poor , it makes me doubt how good it will be ? Or the fact one of my favorite writers ...actually wrote this ? It shocks me....I had to look a few times...really Mark Waid ? Wow....

The book starts off with Max Dillon as Electro who is down and out. Dillon's powers are cutting off and on ...and he's dead broke. All his money and investments gone due to the stock market. He's now working with The Thinker on something and he begs the Thinker to cure him. Thinker tells him it would cost millions to do that and Dillon has nothing.

Meanwhile the DB is getting a bailout. The tabloid paper is getting a government bailout to keep it running. Peter is told this at the office. Somehow Dillon learns of this and decides to act.

Peter at his apartment that morning has Michelle ...who in a editorally driven retcon ....declares Peter was not drunk. Nope...she was slipping him soda. Are you fucking kidding me ? Yes ...Peter Parker has never drunk soda before. What a sad, pathetic retcon . They should have left well enough alone to be honest. But once Wacker and company buried themselves in a hole (not many liked Spider-Man being drunk) you get this. WOW....

Then suddenly the crap keeps flying as suddenly Electro is now angry at Dexter Bennent and his powers are working. No explanation on how this is...and what Electro is gaining here. Beyond public support. Peter loses this brief battle as he takes an electric shock.

There is a funny Joe Kelly backup...but even it can't save this mess of a book. I mean really .... soda pop ? I'm sorry...but you know why ASM is a joke book now ? That pretty much is a reason. I expected more from Mark Waid. I mean way....way more. And guess what guys... you just had a sober Peter Parker , pretty much shirk responsibility in #601 and be a fucking asshole to the girl he slept with.

(Stay tuned to ASM #613 as we see Waid reveals Michelle ...just slipped into bed that morning to fool Peter...as the dumb retcons continue)

This is the problem with retcons people. They can fail in EPIC FASHION. Like this one. I still wonder who suggested this ? Can you please fucking stop ?


Teen Titans #75: Another book I tried and this one was a $1 buck special. In this TT issue , we see the after effects of Kid Devil's funeral. Like the Titans need more funerals huh ? Raven is seen being attacked as she manages to get away from some magical , evil enemies at the start.

Anyhow we see the team of Aqua-Girl , Blue Beetle , Miss Martin, Static , Bombshell , and Wonder Girl. Bombshell and Aqua-Girl are now the Blue Beetle/Kid Devil duo who argue constantly in this. Suddenly the team is joined by ...Beast Boy who has came to lead the team.

In fact he details this to them and claims "He's the leader" over and over as Bombshell is like...get bent . The fact that Cassie is standing there and made to take this bullshit is dumb as crap. Then the funniest part is watching when Raven shows up hurt as Beast Boy snaps from cool confident leader to asshole who couldn't lead a Girl Scout group selling cookies.

Beast Boy keeps this act up and we get a scene of Cyborg and Red Arrow discussing why Beast Boy left. And the 2 act like they could give a shit really. Wow...nice pals ya have there Beast Boy. The end result has them seeking the JSA and Dr. Midnite for help on whats wrong with Raven. The final page has the enemy invade Titans HQ for whats the 2,673,891,199 time. Wow.

The backup is a Ravager story which isn't bad but I was lost since its part #4 of the tale.

In all not a good start at all for new writer Felica Henderson. Just a horrible start and a horrible bit of action by Beast Boy who acts like he's got mutiple personalties in this issue. Filled with a team that not many care for , a $3.99 price...Teen Titans is headed to the shitter. Someone tell Dan Didio the fucking book sucks and needs a revamp asap. Anyone please at DC.

And thats a wrap....someone call a turkey for these 2 books here....later gators.